Problem with Front Squat Rack Position

Raiman

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I haven't done front squats in a few years actually and I'm thinking of swapping them in place of high bar as one of my squat movements, problem is I have either a mobility issues or wrist pain in the rack position; the bar tends to slip into my hands. I once saw an article on here that suggested using straps as a kind of handle like a Safety Squat Bar but I don't own any straps at the moment.

What can I do that will allow me to front squat?
 
You could do them with your arms crossed "I dream of genie" style
 
You could do them with your arms crossed "I dream of genie" style
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That's how I do it^^

It does seem to be harder to balance near max effort lifts
 
Are my fingers supposed to grip the bar?
 
Whenever my wrist was fucked and I wanted to front squat I used straps. I prefer that over the cross grip just my 2 cents.
 
It takes a while to get used to it. Suck it up- full grip i(palms and fingers in full contact with the bar) is incredibly more stable then doing it any other way.

You can practice your rack position between sets of back squats. Just walk up to the bar, take a full grip and roll your elows under and up. Hold it as long as you can. Try unracking and walking the bar out, hold it for a while, focusing on pushing your elbows up.

After a while you will be able to do it comfortably. When you actually squat it will hurt a bit more and your shoulders might feel pretty weird- you feel more strain coming up from the bottom. Stick at it, in a few weeks you will be used to it.
 
I mean....not really.

Why not?

Full grip keeps it closer to the centre of gravity, and means that it is locked in very tight. Why would it *not* be much more stable than the other ways?
 
Why not?

Full grip keeps it closer to the centre of gravity, and means that it is locked in very tight. Why would it *not* be much more stable than the other ways?

You don't have to be physically gripping the bar with a front squat.
 
You don't have to be physically gripping the bar with a front squat.

Yes, I know you don't *have* to be. But in my opinion- which Cratos is going to come and correct shortly- a full grip is much more stable than the arms-crossed, zombie or "fingers lightly on the bar"-clean grip. The result is very, very solid. It makes you feel like someone has screwed the bar into your clavicle.
 
If Jezza Uepa can front squat 881 lbs, I think we'll all be okay.
I'm sure I'm not setting up right or something. Does seem to feel better on my back though and get more quad work, it feels like, anyway. Someone suggested I try a safety squat bar with them.
 
Yes, I know you don't *have* to be. But in my opinion- which Cratos is going to come and correct shortly- a full grip is much more stable than the arms-crossed, zombie or "fingers lightly on the bar"-clean grip. The result is very, very solid. It makes you feel like someone has screwed the bar into your clavicle.

OK. Just seems a little unnecessary.
 
OK. Just seems a little unnecessary.

If you have flexible wrists and shoulders, try it. It feels amazing- to me, anyway. (Edit- actually right now it feels spectacularly gross because I haven't been front squatting for a while and I lost a bit of flexibility. But once that is back it will feel amazing.)

I should add that it is a legit way to front squat, it's not just something I made up (the guy in ASUThermo's second video is demonstrating it at the end). It's how Oly lifters usually do it, I believe.
 
My flexibility on the right side s terrible from old hockey injuries, but I clean grip with no issues.
 
Why not?

Full grip keeps it closer to the centre of gravity, and means that it is locked in very tight. Why would it *not* be much more stable than the other ways?

As long as the bar is racked properly and you maintain proper body positioning, I don't think it makes much of a difference. I've used both.

For obvious reasons, Oly lifters are going to want to rack it in the way that replicates catching a clean. If you don't do weightlifting, though, I really don't think it matters.

Look at all the powerlifters who front squat. They're front squatting a lot more than most/all Oly lifters, with two front squatting over 800 lbs. None of them can do the full grip rack position, and there doesn't seem to be any issues with stability.

tl;dr - how you actually rack the bar across your shoulders and proper body positioning matter much more than how your hands are touching the barbell.
 
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